Valentine's Apprentice
by TheNefelibata
Summary: Ollie thought that after his patchy relationship with Jac, if he was ever had to work with a junior, he'd be calm and controlled. Despite this, when new doctor, Anna Tyler arrives, his temper and professionalism are pushed to breaking. However, when a figure from Tyler's troubled past returns, can they separate their differences and pull together- or are the chasms just too deep?
1. A New Face

Ollie looked around the ward. It seemed, for one of the first time in his personal experiences, completely serene. He smiled and took a leisurely stroll past the beds, checking up on a couple of patients and leant against the Nurses' Station. Life was good. He lifted up his coffee and took an uninterrupted gulp. No response. Still no pagers beeping. Still no loud voices. Still no screaming. Not wanting to quit whilst he was ahead, he took another sumptuous, creamy bitter mouthful-

The ward doors banged open and a woman appeared, pulling a wheelchair. The wheelchair seemed to occupied by a circus strongman, screaming. A harpoon stuck out of his shoulder. Ollie coughed and scalding coffee ran down his face and onto his scrubs. The strong man screamed again and a flurry of nurses descended. He could make out the distinct voice of the woman issuing harsh, crisp orders in a brisk London accent. Ollie sighed. Time to wade in.

'Alright, alright!' he yelled, and the hubbub of nurses silenced, but the woman continued to talk, rapidly.

'Get those sheets, we need to put a lot of pressure on this. Page surgery- I don't give a damn how busy they are, they're going to have to fit him in or he'll bleed out, or lose his arm- or both!' The corner of her mouth twitched. The woman seemed to get a sort of macabre pleasure from the idea of a medical disaster. 'Don't just stand there!' she cried at him. 'If we can't get him to surgery within the next fifteen minutes, we'll have to open him ourselves.'

'Who are you?' Ollie managed to get out, between burnt lips.

'Tyler. Doctor. I'm your new F1.'

F1. The shock on Ollie's face must have been clearly visible, but all he got was a cold look and the woman continued to hold down tight in the strongman's shoulder. A nurse busied up with a needle and Tyler injected it straight into the man's elbow. She threw the needle straight into the disposal box and continued to apply forceful pressure. The harpoon quivered.

'You must be Mr Valentine,' Tyler said, extending a hand thickly incrusted with dark blood. Ollie looked at the hand. She was expecting him to shake it? When she didn't retract the hand, his politeness took over and he gave it one, quick shake. 'Pleasure.'

'What are you doing?' Ollie asked, explosively, unable to contain himself much longer. Tyler looked up quickly from checking the strongman's pulse.

'Oh, I do beg your pardon. Marco Valencia, forty seven, I found him in a lift and he said he was trying to get to CT. He then fainted, apparently due to blood loss from the harpoon.' She gestured at the weapon still shivering in the air. One of the nurses had hooked him up to an emergency screen and the frantic beating of Valencia's heart filled the ward.

'No,' Ollie sighed, taking over the pressure on the wound and watching as Tyler prepared another needle. 'What are you doing _here_?'

'Did Mr Hanssen not mention me? I do hope I haven't caused a problem.' The tone of her voice suggested otherwise, but Ollie pretended to not notice. 'I was doing so spectacularly at med school, my tutor- Mr Hanssen's good friend- suggested I get a position earlier than is the norm. Mr Hanssen kindly suggested here.'

Ollie almost covered his face in his hands, before remembering they were coated in thick blood. The harpoon was beginning to cut through the flesh, sliding towards his fingers and a spurt of dark blood arched over his trainers. An F1 was the last thing he needed right now. Just when everything had been going so well, he had another pair of prying eyes peering at his every move.

'Fine,' he grunted. 'Go and chase up the surgical spot- and quickly!' Keep her out of his way for as long as possible. He didn't need help- what was Hanssen playing at?


	2. Start As You Mean to Go On

He heard her before he saw her coming. The rapid squeaks of her sneakers on the linoleum floor and the slight catch in her breath. Tyler rounded the corner and caught Ollie's eye as he helped a couple of porters drape the strongman's body on a trolley. She shook her head, once. He gave a quick nod.

'Right, then, let's get you into a side room, Mr Valencia,' Ollie said, trying to stay cheerful. In reality, his heart rate was increasing rapidly and he could feel sweat on his brow. To a nurse, he muttered. 'Get some scrubs, some gloves and that tray.' He nodded to a draw of equipment. 'Dr Tyler, with me.'

Tyler, to his relief, came straight to his side and he gave a quick outline. The patient was breathing with little distress, so a chest tube seemed painful and unnecessary. Intubation would be necessary, but with a success, the tube could be taken out one or two days post-op.

'We'll just go in and out and get him up to ITU.'

'Mr Valentine,' Tyler said, just as Ollie turned to put his scrubs on. 'Would a thoracoscopy be more prudent? I mean, we don't want to make any mistakes, and there is always a risk around the mid-clavicular line about an aortal puncture-'

'In and out, Dr Tyler. Then we're done here.'

'There's an air leak.' Ollie could feel the old panic rise in his chest as failure became more obvious. 'I can't see anything.' Beside Tyler, the cardiac monitor began to beep with a frenzied alarm.

'This is where the thoracoscopy would have come in,' came Tyler's quiet voice from the other side of the strongman. She leant towards the strongman and he could see her eyes narrow as she heard the low blowing sound. Ollie tried to contain the tiny bubble of anger at the 'I told you so'. 'Glue,' Tyler muttered, extending a bloody hand. She leant forwards and carefully ran her index finger over a small piece of flesh. The blowing stopped. 'Normal lung expansion resumed,' she added calmly.

Ollie laid his palm over the strongman's torso. 'Reduced lung expansion on the left side,' he told Tyler. She nodded.

'Hemothorax, residual, probably. 400-500mL. Seen it before. A chest drain will sort that out. Let's close him and move him out. CT can tidy up here if they need to.'

Ollie found as they closed Valencia, a new feeling extending towards Tyler. Her calmness, her foresight, just her _ability_ was stifling. And excruciatingly irritating. It took him until he dropped Valencia off to ITU and had got past Bernie's anger at his stealing a patient that he realised what this feeling was. Hatred.


	3. An Impossible Situation

Ollie returned from ITU to find Tyler changed into her scrubs and leaning against the Nurses' Station. She looked relaxed and not at all like a junior doctor should do. Suspicious, Ollie approached her and plucked the clipboard from her hands. The old woman in Bay 3. She'd been discharged- without his permission!

'Where is Mrs Gall?' asked Ollie with painstaking patience.

'I discharged her, Mr Valentine,' Tyler stated. 'It says in her notes- doesn't it?'

'It does,' said Ollie. His temper was bubbling dangerously close to the surface and he could feel colour in his cheeks. Tyler seemed to remain impassive. 'Why, then, did I not know about this?'

'Mrs Gall was in the pink of health.' Tyler grinned and began to walk towards the door. 'She had recovered fine from surgery, her observations were normal and her son was going to be at home to look after her.'

'Stop!' cried Ollie. 'I must be consulted on this- I'm your senior!'

'So is Mr Hanssen yours, but I don't see you running to him every time you discharge someone.' This was the first time Tyler had shown any impatience. 'And, if you don't mind, sir, I've got bloods to chase.'

Ollie swung around as the door slapped shut behind her and pressed his hands to his face. He groaned, deeply.

'Is there a problem, Mr Valentine?' came a quiet, controlled voice. Ollie dropped his hands immediately and straightened up. Hanssen stood about six feet away. Privately, Ollie wondered how he managed to creep up on unsuspecting victims like that.

'No Mr Hanssen. Can I help you?'

The CEO took one brisk glance around the ward and back at Ollie. 'Where have you incarcerated Anna?' he asked.

'Anna?' Ollie repeated, mentally scrolling through lists of patients, doctors and nurses. No Anna there as far as he knew.

'Dr Tyler. I believe she was to start today?' Hanssen took another look around, when Tyler burst through the doors, carrying a sheet of paper in a fist.

'Mr Valentine- Mr Timothy's bloods are back.' She gave him the sheet of paper and heaved in a breath. 'It looks like we need a surgery spot again.' She noticed Mr Hanssen and extended a pale, spidery hand. 'Dr Anna Tyler. We've spoken on the telephone, I believe. I don't know if I have thanked you for the position?'

'Indeed, it's my pleasure' Hanssen said, shaking the hand. 'James, your tutor, seemed most excited about you- it seemed foolish not to give you a trial. Mr Valentine, I'll leave you to it.'

Ollie stared hopelessly after Hanssen. There seemed no hope in hell that he could get rid of Tyler- she had everything going for her. He looked back down at the results in his hands. Why would the patient need surgery? Yes, he had an abnormal white blood cell count. But- what? He looked at Tyler who was itching for him to finish.

'Should I get him transferred, or do you think it would be better to do it now rather than later?' Tyler asked, her eyes wide.

'What's your diagnosis, Dr Tyler?' Ollie asked desperately, hoping she wouldn't guess his motive.

'You mean you don't know, sir?' she asked, shocked. Ollie tried to hide the flush in his cheeks.

'Of course I know, Anna-'

'Tyler. Not Anna, it makes me sound like a princess.'

'Of course I know, Tyler, but I'm your mentor. I'm meant to check _you_ know. You do, don't you.'

'Yes, it's simple. Abdominal pains, matched with stress on the heart and a high white count- it all points to later stage Hodgkin's Disease. As I was saying, should we transfer him to cancers, or should we do the surgery to remove the glands now? I mean, I don't have much experience with cancers, but I think that-'

'Yes, thank you, Dr Tyler. I'll ask your opinion when I want it.'

As Ollie paged cancers, he took a glance over to Tyler as she stood by a patient, taking obs. How did she fit so much into that tiny head? He felt the annoyance rise again. What was she doing here? He didn't need or want to be a mentor and definitely not to a slimy kid like Tyler. Genius, his foot. He needed her out as soon as he could. That peaceful morning seemed a million miles away as he heard the squeak of her footsteps running over again with, he had no doubt, another thing that he had missed.


	4. Freedom

Since Ollie had first seen Tyler, a week had passed. To him it seemed like a year- a year filled with surgery sessions he either didn't understand or didn't know why they were being performed, discharging seemingly healthy patients he could have sworn were screaming twenty minutes beforehand and hopeless attempts to get Tyler to yell at him. All of them had ended in him, angry and red-faced, watching her calmly walk off to chase up something he hadn't asked her to. It was a living hell and all of the other doctors didn't understand him. If they'd had a chance to work with the golden girl, they would have grabbed it with both hands.

Tyler was enjoying herself. For the first time in her life, she wasn't the odd one out. On th CT ward, she was surrounded by equally bright and interesting people that she could properly talk to. She knew that she was an unusual F1, but that didn't stop her getting as involved as she could. The Head CT Surgeon had also taken an interest in her and Tyler was looking forward to sitting her exams much sooner than any other junior. She was working hard- often doubling up her shifts to gain experience and hang around to observe theatre procedures. Her sleep was suffering, but that was nothing caffeine and sugar couldn't solve.

In fact, the only thing that she was not happy with, was her boss, Mr Valentine. When she showed off to the other doctors, they appreciated it, and praised her. Mr Valentine, on the other hand, just seemed to become infuriated. The end of every fay was characterised by him picking fault at her and she was nearing breaking point. Tyler had considered discussing Valentine's behaviour with Hanssen, but she soon realised that winding him up was as good a punishment as any- and it was just so easy.

Someone was shaking Tyler's shoulder. She scrunched her face up against the light that seemed to be pouring onto her face. Had she not shut the curtains? Someone shook her shoulder again and she sat up abruptly. She wasn't at home after all. The CT staffroom came unforgivingly into sharp focus. She wiped a hand over her face and looked to her left. A senior nurse she hadn't seen before was stood beside her. He had dark brown hair swept off his face and was staring at her.

'I'm sorry, sir,' Tyler muttered, and got up, glancing at her watch.

'Nah, you're alright, don't worry,' said the nurse. 'I'm Fletch, by the way.' He shook her hand. She realised, with a bit of embarrassment hers was still clammy from sleep.

'Tyler,' she replied.

'Now, I know who you are.' Fletch nudged her. 'You're only the talk of the whole hospital.'

Tyler hid a grin and looked at the time again. She'd only been asleep three hours. There was still another hour before her shift started and she needed at least another half-hour's kip. She sat back down again and, noticing Fletch had gone to the counter to make a coffee, shut her eyes again.

'Oi, don't go back to sleep again,' he said. 'Took me an age to wake you up the first time.'

'I still got an hour before my shift starts,' Tyler muttered, shuffling into a more comfortable position.

'Sorry, not today. You're working on AAU with us. Mr Valentine not say? I've got to give you a tour, show you the ropes and that. Lucky you came in early, really.'

Tyler saw no reason to tell Fletch that she'd never gone home.

AAU was chaos compared to the general serenity of the CT ward. Patients were being ferried in rapidly from the ED and sent away just as quickly. Patients shuffled around like zombies, trailing machines and drip stands. One of these was quickly intercepted by Fletch, who quickly pushed him back towards his bed.

'Shouldn't be up yet, Mr Huntingdon. Wait till Dr Copeland gives you the all-clear. Dom!' he called down the ward to the Nurses' Station where an unassuming man in burgundy scrubs looked up. 'Mr Huntingdon's wandering again!' The man nodded and hurried down the ward. Tyler was shown beds, cupboards, corridors, lifts, alarms, offices and the staffroom. For any other F1, she was sure, this would be overwhelming, but she felt the familiar buzz of adrenaline begin to run in her veins. This was what she was made for!

'So, Fletch, what d'you want me to do?'


	5. Fatal Error

Five hours into her shift and Tyler was as happy as she'd ever been. The team on AAU were much more cheerful and up for a laugh than the bunch on Darwin, who seemed more focused on their feuds than anything else. On AAU, everything seemed a lot more relaxed- which seemed a little ironic with all the constant activity. Every now and then, her tiredness would rear its ugly head, but somehow she'd managed to stock up on enough espresso to keep herself working.

The lift beeped as Tyler walked past and as the door opened, screams filled the corridor. Tyler moved backwards to let the trolley past, but was shocked to find a set of notes pressed into her hand by a paramedic.

'Sorry, mate,' he said, 'ED's full and they're diverting to you. This is Harry Jones, thirteen. His leg was run over by a car- stabilised en route. Neck cleared at the scene. Alright, Fletch?' he directed this last comment as Fletch ran along beside him.

'Not bad. Yourself?' Fletch replied, guiding the trolley into a bay.

'Good. He's had ten of morphine, but it might be wearing off. GCS 14, there's some confusion, BP one-twenty over eighty and heart rate one-twenty systolic. Father was following on, so he'll be here any minute. Alright, Harry, we're just going to get you over here, OK? On my count, folks,' the paramedic said, and a couple of porters and nurses held the boy's body. Tyler did as well, though she wasn't sure what she was meant to be doing. If she was honest, there was the faintest trickle of panic in her system- then the adrenaline kicked in and she let her instincts take over.

The nurses had been dispatched and she had introduced herself to the patient. Fletch had stuck close, perhaps aware of her nerves. Harry was staring at the ceiling, breathing deeply. The morphine was taking effect, but his face was still indistinguishable from the sheets beside it. Tyler took a deep breath herself. This was where sleep would have been useful.

'Alright, Harry, I'm just going to take a look at your leg.' Tyler steeled herself and unstrapped the splint. Her stomach did a half turn as she looked into the sea of red. She could hardly tell where the skin ended and began. 'Can I get some pads, please, Fletch?' she asked. Tyler wasn't sure if the injury looked better or worse without the blood. She could see where the car wheel had torn the muscle and the flesh. As Fletch wiped for the last time, she could see the white-yellow of what could only be bone. She swallowed.

'Dr Tyler-' Fletch started in a half-warning, half-worried tone.

'Right-ho, then Harry. I need to go and chase something, but I'll be back in a minute.' Tyler quickly strapped the splint back on and retreated quickly. Her head was spinning and her eyes were beginning to get heavy. Coffee. She quickly ran into the staffroom and found her bag. Her flask was filled with really strong coffee and she took a swallow. Almost immediately, she felt the familiar buzz. People had stayed awake for years, even without coffee. She should have no trouble.

Fletch mobbed Tyler as she left the staffroom.

'You good, Ty, only you didn't look so great earlier.' He sounded brisk, but there was a hint of concern there.

'Yeah, fine, thanks, sir,' Tyler responded, almost mechanically. She was almost at Harry's bed, but Fletch grabbed hold of her arm.

'Sir? What am I, your school teacher, or something?' Fletch demanded, but looking like that wasn't exactly what he meant. Tyler broke his grip. Her face had gone stony and she crossed her arms.

'Sorry, Fletch. Old habits, eh? I'm fine, anyway. That kid's leg made me feel didn't look too great, did it?.'

'I know what you mean.' But it looked like he didn't. 'You going to move him to paeds? They'll patch him up and there's nothing we can do here.'

'No. I need to check for other injuries first.' Tyler couldn't face relinquishing him. He was too good a patient too miss the chance of operating on. She needed this opportunity.

'Ty, he's going to bleed out unless you get him to theatre soon.'

'No, he won't. And, if need be, I'm sure Ms Wolfe is more than capable.'

Tyler was just sending a middle-aged man off to have his appendix removed when Fletch came running. His hair was rumpled like he'd ran his hand through it multiple times and there was blood on his scrubs. Tyler let the adrenaline kick in and didn't even need to ask. She knew Harry's heartrate would elevate soon enough, but she hadn't anticipated how that might affect the wound. She turned on her heel and ran to bed she thought Harry was in. It was empty.

'Fletch?' she said, gesturing at the bed. He was breathing heavily.

'I'm not as fit as I was,' he wheezed, but gestured over at the emergency theatre. Tyler sprinted through the doors and saw someone in dark blue scrubs washing their hands and talking to a frightened man she assumed was Harry's father. However, it wasn't Ms Wolfe after all. The figure turned.

'Hello, Tyler,' drawled Mr Valentine.

 **Thank you to anyone who has read, or taken an interest in my story so far. I would really appreciate it if you could leave a review as I am a new member of the FanFiction community and need all the advice I can get my hands on. Thank you!**

 **-TheNefelibata**


	6. The Rage of Valentine

Ollie looked across the body of the boy at Tyler. As far as he was aware, she had neglected her patient, he had deteriorated and it was his job as her mentor to sort her problems out for her. Resentment echoed in waves between the two of them. Tyler was standing as quiet as ever, looking at him with calculated politeness. She was waiting for him to take the lead. He took a deep breath, and began.

The dropping BP was not getting any better, despite the clamping of several arteries and the fact they had almost got to the closure stage of the leg wound. Ollie couldn't believe that she hadn't sent the patient to surgery before the problem had got this sever, but he suspected that she had wanted to do this procedure all along. He glanced up from the leg for a brief second, a tiny blip in his concentration and looked at her. Her face was fixed in concentration, but beneath the focused, bright eyes, there were dark bags. Despite himself, he almost asked after her, but then checked himself. If she wanted to push herself to the limits, she'd have to learn the consequences.

The leg was closed and the child's BP almost looked to be stabilising when a frantic alarm filled the theatre. Ollie saw Tyler's eyes immediately flick to him and hated her for her dependence. Nothing had ever gone wrong in their surgery before; he didn't want to admit it, but they had made a good team. Tyler immediately pressed her hand on Harry's chest.

'Good bilateral air entry- no respiratory damage. There must be something wrong with his heart!' The way she said it was a direct suggestion that this was his problem to solve. Ollie felt a tiny prickle of anger.

'OK, Dr Tyler, what do you think another issue could be?' Not only was he embarrassing her a little, which gave Ollie a little spike of savage satisfaction, but he was stalling for time.

'I don't know, sir,' Tyler said, her voice still measured, despite the panic he could see glimmering in her eyes. Ollie's anger increased. He didn't know either! But, she was the clever one, the golden whizz kid, why could she not throw him a life line? Anger bubbled as he struggled with his embarrassment.

'Do we have a chest and abdo CT?' Ollie asked, annoyed to find his voice much less controlled than he would have liked. Tyler's face paled.

'I- I didn't do one, sir,' she stuttered. Ollie felt his anger break its flood barriers.

'OUT!' he roared. Tyler jumped back a pace and threw her arms up as if to defend herself and Ollie's anger only grew. How dare she be weak? He wanted to shout at her. 'I can't work with you. Get out of my theatre NOW!'

Tyler burst through the doors and leant against the sink, tears reaching into her vision. She looked, panic-stricken, back through the glass. The beeping was getting worse. Tyler washed her hands and tore off her scrubs. Her breathing rate was accelerating. How had she not done a scan? How could she have been so _bloody_ stupid? She wanted his condition to worsen so she could do the op, but now- had she killed a man? The beeping reached a crescendo and three separate alarms echoed in the theatre. She could see Mr Valentine looking down at the body as if it were a map and he didn't even know where he began in the first place. The anaesthetist was gesturing at him, but he just shook his head. The alarms stopped all at once. Tyler covered her face. She felt horribly, desperately alone.

The doors banged and Mr Valentine burst into the room. Tyler dropped her hands and watched as he ripped his scrubs into a bin and turned to face her. His fury was palpable and it was all she could do not to run away. She somehow managed to hold his gaze.

'To be honest, Tyler,' Mr Valentine snarled. 'I didn't expect anything better. That was a mess, Tyler. A MESS!' Tyler took a deep breath and managed to control the tears. Mr Valentine took a step towards her and they we nose to nose. 'Just remember, none of this would have happened if you were a better doctor. This-' He gestured at the boy's body. _Harry's_ body. 'Is all your fault. You killed him. And now,' he added, with a sort of savage satisfaction. 'And now, you'll have to tell his father.'


	7. The Fault is Mine

Tyler felt the now-familiar wave of exhaustion wash over her as she walked down the corridor from the emergency theatre. All she wanted to do was curl up and go to sleep, she realised, then berated herself. If she wanted to be the best, she was going to have to pull through. She readied herself to dart into the staffroom for her coffee, when she saw the white, anxious face of Harry's father. Her heart seemed to be hammering much faster than it usually was and her vision blurred briefly. Tyler swallowed, and somehow made it to the row of seats.

'So,' croaked the man. Tyler vaguely remembered his name was Kirk. She swallowed.

'I'm really sorry, sir. We did everything we could.' Lies, she hissed in her head. What about that chest CT? 'Harry didn't pull through surgery.'

For a split second, Kirk's face crumpled and Tyler thought he was going to cry. That was why she stepped forwards. Then, she realised the contortions were in rage and not in sadness. By this time it was too late. The fist came out of nowhere and her head slammed against the wall. Bright lights popped in front of her vision and her legs gave way. She braced herself for the impact, but someone grabbed her by the shoulders and held her upright. A whir of navy scrubs and black hair rushed past and she saw Kirk detained by someone swearing in a language she recognised as Italian. Tyler scrambled to get her feet beneath her and tried to ignore the hot wetness on the side of her head.

'Mr Rossini,' Tyler called, and the man stopped swearing and looked at her. 'Let Kirk go, please. He's just lost his son.'

'I don't care who he's lost,' Mr Rossini growled, but he let Kirk go. 'You don't harm my staff. Got it?'

Kirk nodded, numbly. All anger had vanished and he looked down. Tyler saw a tear run down his nose. From behind her, she heard Fletch's voice. It must have been he who had caught her. Her head throbbed as she turned around.

'Are you alright, Ty,' Fletch asked.

'Fine,' Tyler replied, looking back around and trying to still the wave of dizziness threatening to topple her. She gently rested a hand on Kirk's elbow and lowered him into a seat. He was shaking and she didn't know what to do. She coud hear his breaths coming quickly and thickly through a blocked nose. It was a pitiful sound. She just sat and waited.

Finally, Kirk spoke. 'What did he say last?'

Tyler frowned slightly. She didn't understand people's obsessions with last words. Surely it was what people said to you when they were in the pinnacle of health that mattered, not when they were drugged up and in pain? But, she ignored those feelings and thought quickly. She'd arrived too late to see Harry put under by the anaesthetist, but she assumed it was something along the lines of 'what's going to happen', or 'it hurts'. Instead, her mind whirred.

'What was the last thing Harry said to you?' she asked. At the end of the corridor, she heard the door of the operating theatre swing open and the distinctive stride of Mr Valentine, but she didn't look up from Kirk. He sniffed.

''Bye, Dad. See you on the other side, then?', I think,' Kirk whispered against the lump Tyler could hear in his throat. She swallowed.

'That would be it,' she mumbled, fighting against tears herself. 'He didn't say anything else.' She took a deep breath. If she wasn't so tired then maybe she wouldn't be so emotional. She battled a yawn and the wound on her head became a deep-seated throb. She winced.

'Why did he die? I thought he said, the surgeon, that it would be fine once they'd stopped the bleed.' Tyler could hear the beginnings of Kirk's temper and she wondered how she could get out of this one. In front of them, she heard the footsteps stop.

'Dr Tyler forgot to do a scan.' Tyler's eyes shot up. Mr Valentine looked down at Kirk and nodded. 'If it wasn't for that, your son would probably still be alive.' And, with that, he continued on his way down the corridor. She stared after him, shock wrestling with distrust and fury. Tyler felt her heart rate increase as she turned to look back at Kirk. His face was contorted again and it took all Tyler's remaining self-control to not fling her arms up in self-defence.

'Is it true?' Kirk said, his voice hoarsely out of control. 'It's your fault.' Tyler closed her eyes.

'Yes- I forgot to do the scan.' She felt a tear prise open her lid as the push came. Her chair swung out from beneath her and this time, there was no Fletch to catch her. She hit the floor and cried out. Opening her eyes, she saw Kirk leaning over her. She flinched, just in time, for he kicked, hitting her side. Then, he was gone, carried away in a blur of navy scrubs. She struggled to her elbows and just caught Kirk's eye as he rounded the corner.

'I forgive you!' he cried. 'For my son's sake- I forgive you!'

Though that hardly mattered, Tyler realised, as she tried to get up, because she'd never forgive herself.


	8. Falling Action

Tyler stormed back through the ward and aimed for the staffroom. She needed to get out of AAU fast. They asked a lot of questions here. Darwin was far simpler, far less emotional and the staffroom much more comfortable. She heard someone shouting after her and debated whether to stop. Then, she recognised the voice. Valentine. She turned around and stared straight into his icy blue eyes.

'Don't think we're done,' he hissed. Tyler flinched subconsciously and felt the cut on the side of her head reopen. Hot blood soaked her scalp. Valentine took another step closer and fear, pain and fatigue blurred her vision. 'What you did was stupid. I'm going to have to report it and how is that going to look on both of our folders? Do you want to be a surgeon, Tyler?'

'Yes, sir.'

'You're not acting like it. I don't know how much longer I can work with you.' He was breathing more heavily than she was now and she could see the tell-tale beads of sweat on his white brow. He was getting really angry. Tyler remembered how he had looked in theatre and saw how dangerously further gone he was now. She somehow managed to maintain eye contact despite the fact it felt like her heart had stopped beating.

'I'm sorry, sir,' she whispered.

'You know what? That's just not good enough, I'm afraid. A boy died on _my watch_ , Tyler! Mine! And all you can do is apologise?'

This had gone too far and Tyler knew it. She'd tried to placate him, but it wasn't working. She took a step away, hoping to make a break for it. She knew it was cowardly, but if she was honest, she didn't really care. Mr Valentine closed the space and some, so close she could see the small hairs on his arms standing on end.

'I don't- I-'

'That's right, burble. Come on, Tyler, what is it?' His voice was savagely loud and she could see several nurses pause and point. She hoped desperately one would come and help her.

'Please- I-' It was like she was ten years old again, caught for a petty misdemeanour. But, this was so much scarier and so much more dangerous. 'I didn't mean to, I swear!'

'I hope you didn't,' he hissed, grabbing her wrist so tightly she could feel him on her bones. 'Because if you did-'

'Is everything alright, Dr Tyler?' came a quiet, measured voice from behind her. Tyler swung around, but the wash of relief and sharp movement blurred her vision into a white wash and she lost her balance, careering into Mr Hanssen. She righted herself straight off and took a step away, but one of his hands stayed on her arm. She stole a glance at Mr Valentine.

'Fine,' she whispered. His eyes bore into hers and she let herself look away. He turned on his heel, throwing a comment about an incomplete report over his shoulder as he went. The threat he had begun still hung menacingly unfinished between him and Tyler and her heart twitched in fear. However, as he slammed through the doors and out of sight, a wave of faintness came over her and she fought to stay upright.

'Why are you here, Mr Hanssen?' she asked, trying to keep her voice steady. He looked down at her through his glasses.

'I heard about your patient and I had come down to speak to Mr Valentine about how you were coping,' he explained, speaking as though he were treading on a glass pane that might shatter.

'How I was coping?' Tyler repeated, dumbly.

'Indeed. It is never easy, losing a patient, especially your first one. It has ruined many a good doctor.' A feeling of determination came over Tyler.

'Not me.' Mr Hanssen regarded her for a couple more seconds as if gouging the truth in her words, before looking back up.

'How are you coping?' he asked, then seemed to freeze. Tyler felt the first drip of stickiness on her cheek and lifted her hand to the cut on the side of her head. It came away deeply red. 'Dr Tyler,' Mr Hanssen said, warning evident in his voice. Tyler's eyesight dipped and somehow she ended up on the floor, sitting against a wall. She could hear Mr Hanssen's voice shouting for Fletch and she blinked deeply, darkly. She could hear her heart beat in her ears, quick and panicked, and swallowed, the taste of blood thick on her tongue. Then all time seemed to stop.

 **I love this story and I would really appreciate some feedback so please don't forget to drop a quick review. Thank you!**

 **-The Nefelibata**


	9. Lies and Allies

Someone was leaning over Tyler. She caught a brief glimpse of curly grey hair and a large nose before she scrambled backwards and away. She collided with the back of the sofa. No escape.

'Easy, Ty,' said a familiar voice from somewhere off to her right. Tyler focused and the room slowly came into view. It was a staffroom, not that different from AAU or Darwin, but she could see the name 'Keller' written on the door. Keller. She searched her hazy memories quickly and remembered that this was Holby's general surgical ward. Fletch was leaning against a counter to her right and the man she had never seen before was crouched in front of her.

'Who are you?' she said, loudly, rudely. He wasn't wearing scrubs and she was wary. Her head was killing her. The man looked confused and glanced over at Fletch.

'It's the head. It's probably messing around with her memory,' he explained to the man. To Tyler, he added, 'This is Sacha Levy, Ty. He's the consultant surgeon on Keller. You met him earlier. You remember?'

'No,' Tyler said bluntly. Her heartrate was finally slowing and she competed against a yawn in her throat. 'What happened? Why Keller?' The last thing she could remember was her collapse on AAU. She glanced at the clock on the wall. At least a half-hour had passed.

'We needed to check out the head injury and we knew that Kirk could be back at any minute and that you were vulnerable. You seemed quite happy with the idea at the time, you know,' Mr Levy explained. Tyler frowned, then regretted it as her head throbbed in argument. She raised a hand, but Mr Levy held her wrist. 'Let's not go poking about in that yet.'

'You should hit your head more often, Ty,' Fletch joked, standing up and heading to the door. 'You're a right laugh. I got to dash, the ward'll be falling apart without me. You good here?'

'Fine, thanks.'

Whether or not this was true, Tyler didn't really know, as she held still for Mr Levy's sutures, but at least Mr Valentine couldn't track her here.

Mr Levy was remarkably quick and he soon had excused himself, leaving Tyler alone. She looked at the sofa next to her and for a brief moment, contemplated just laying down and sleeping. No one would mind, she reasoned. In fact, they'd probably rather that than her wandering around and making a nuisance of herself. She had even shifted her body weight ready to take a kip, when the door opened and Mr Valentine stormed in.

Tyler leapt straight to her feet, then lost her balance and fell back again, just as Mr Hanssen followed him in. She felt her heart flip in her chest. The last time she'd seen Mr Hanssen, she'd almost fainted on him. He didn't look happy as he gestured to Mr Valentine to take a seat beside her. It felt odd to Tyler and it took a second for her to realise why. In the week they'd been working together, not once had they sat side by side. They were always nose to nose, confronting one another. Why had she ever thought working with a CT surgeon was a good idea?

'There seems to me to be a problem between you- Dr Tyler, do I bore you?' Mr Hanssen broke off as Tyler finally succumbed to the yawn that had been warring with her since the end of surgery.

'No, sir,' she said quickly.

'I hope I do not, because this has just become very serious. A boy may have been killed by your toxic relationship, so you must answer me honestly. Do you understand?'

Neither Tyler nor Mr Valentine said a word. Tyler could feel the nerves prickling her skin. She'd known this was coming.

'Dr Tyler, has Mr Valentine bullied you?'

Tyler swallowed and took a sideways look at Mr Valentine. He did the same thing and they made frantic eye contact. Had he bullied her? About Harry, definitely. But, that was one off. Most of the other times he had shouted at her, she had provoked him. Well, if not most, then a majority. A few, then, maybe? But, it wasn't bullying. She was no victim.

'No, Mr Hanssen.'

'That is your final answer?' When Tyler did not respond, Mr Hanssen turned his steely eyes to Mr Valentine who seemed to visibly shy away. 'Mr Valentine, was it Dr Tyler's error that led to the death of her patient?'

Tyler's breath hitched in her throat, but this time she did not take her eyes off the CEO. That second seemed to last forever. Then, Mr Valentine spoke.

'It contributed to it, but it was not the cause. I believe he would have died, even with the scan.'

Tyler let out the breath of air she had been holding and winced. She held her ribs, feeling for the first time the bruising Kirk's kicking had done. Mr Hanssen regarded this.

'Is that broken rib a related incident, or can it wait?'

Tyler looked up. Broken? 'It can wait, sir.'

'I want both of you to know that if either of you has lied here, it could have serious implications for not only you, but this hospital's reputation. And, if I find out you have been discussing these issues with your colleagues rather than me, there will be consequences. Do I make myself clear?' His voice was as harsh as Tyler had ever heard it and she swallowed again, her throat dry.

'Yes, sir.'

Mr Hanssen turned around and left the staffroom leaving Tyler and her mentor completely alone. Immediately, she armed herself mentally for the verbal war she was sure was about to hit, but Mr Valentine stood up and headed for the door. As he pushed it open, he stopped.

'I'll get someone to have a look at your ribs. And, Tyler? Don't bother going back to AAU today. I've arranged cover and you need a break. Make sure there's someone to do obs on you and go home.'

Tyler wasn't sure if it was the accusation of bullying that had shaken him up or the fact he genuinely might be beginning to care for her that had triggered this act of kindness, but either way, she didn't like this new Mr Valentine. He was way too unpredictable.

 **Thank you so much for your comments in my last chapter. I really regard your feedback highly and I am working to include Zosia and other characters in my next part. Please tell me your opinions as I want to please as many people as I can and this is as much the readers' story as it is mine!  
-TheNefelibata**


	10. Closing Schisms

Ollie collapsed into a chair in the Nurses' Station in Darwin and sighed, covering his face in his hands. What a disaster. First Tyler's mess in theatre, then being accused if bullying. If his life couldn't get anymore difficult dealing with Anna Tyler anyway. He groaned quietly and felt two slight hands perch on his shoulder.

'Bad day at the office?' came a playful feminine voice from behind him. His frown slipped and he dropped his hands. How was it that all it took were a few words from Zosia to make his day a hundred times better? He spun on his chair and looked up at the full majesty of his fiancée. A smile took the place of a frown and he held her hands.

'Nothing a few drinks wouldn't solve,' he replied, his voice slipping to playful as well.

'That, Mr Valentine, can be arranged.' Ollie winced at the use of his title. That's all Tyler would ever call him. That and 'sir', which was, if possible, even more infuriating. 'What's the matter? Ollie?'

'Nothing.' Ollie plastered the smile back on his face. He hated the way that girl got into his head and, now, even into his relationships. Why could she not leave him well alone? 'How about it, then, Dr March? I'm off in- ooh.' He pretended to work out something, looking at his watch. 'Thirty seconds, so how about it? Albie's and then a takeaway? I won't even press my fabulous cooking on you.'

Zosia smiled and leaned forward and kissed him. He relished the touch, but as he put his hand on her ribs, he remembered something.

'Zosh- I've got a favour I need- please?'

Tyler was just finishing off her paper when the door to the Keller staffroom opened and a woman walked in. She was slight and delicate-looking with her brown hair pulled off her face. She was almost a dead ringer for Tyler, save for Tyler's glasses and extra three inches. She also smiled as soon as she walked in, which Tyler almost never did.

'Hello,' said the woman. She was a doctor at least, judging by the navy scrubs and stethoscope. 'I'm Zosia. Ollie asked me to take a look at your ribs?'

Tyler frowned. She'd come to suspect that Mr Valentine's promise was an act of unrequited chivalry. 'I'm Tyler,' she replied. 'You don't have to do this,' she added. Zosia disregarded this and shut the door behind her.

'You're Ollie's junior then?' she asked as Tyler gingerly stood up. She winced and touched her head, but the stitches were holding up fine. She nodded carefully as Zosia lifted her scrubs and t-shirt.

'You see much of him,' Tyler asked, casually. Despite this, she watched the other woman like a hawk, testing the water.

'I see a lot of him actually. We live together.' Zosia tilted her head from Tyler's side to look at her. Testing the water as well? Tyler grinned. A kindred spirit. Zosia returned the smile and pressed on the worst affected rib. Tyler restrained a cry and found herself leaning on Zosia's shoulder. She immediately pulled her hand away, embarrassed.

'Sore?' asked Zosia, a touch of humour creeping into her words. Tyler looked down at the mass of black and blue bruising over her right side and averted her eyes.

'I've had worse,' Tyler grunted, trying hard not to remember. New job, new life. She had to work hard and forget what happened before.

'Really? Well, anyway, we're going to have to do an x-ray and then see where we are.' Zosia placed the cold metal of her stethoscope against Tyler's chest. Tyler breathed in as her muscles contracted out of reflex. 'Yep, nothing unusual there. So, what happened?' she asked, as Tyler pulled her scrubs down quickly.

'Angry father,' Tyler replied. Why was everyone at this hospital so obsessed with knowing everything? That and their constant need to ask 'Are you alright?'. It seemed like sometimes Mr Valentine and her were the only sane people in the entire building.

'Not yours I hope,' Zosia laughed, then stopped as she caught sight of Tyler's frown. 'Shall we, then?'

As Tyler walked through Keller, she tried hard not to make eye contact. The memories of her collapse and subsequent journey through the hospital were patchy to say the least, but what she remembered was enough to make her cringe. She could swear she could feel the eyes of every person she passed scorching into the back of her head.

 _'Nurse Fletcher! Nurse Fletcher!'_

 _Tyler could feel her body slumped to one side, but cared little about righting it. She knew that, soon enough, someone would do it for her. True to form, within seconds, oversized hands were on her shoulders, holding her upright. The words that had been shouted earlier had stopped and she could hear dull murmuring somewhere close to her head._

 _'She's going into shock I think...'_

 _'We need to remove her, Nurse Fletcher, the father will be back soon...'_

 _There was a sudden movement and Tyler's feet were back under her again. She tried, desperately, to get her feet beneath her, but found the floor simply wouldn't take her weight. The shoulder she'd been given to lean on wasn't cutting it either. Why was it always other people who let her down? Suddenly, there was no floor and her weight was entirely in someone else's arms. She could hear a grunt and a wheeze and the well-spoken voice was calling for space. Then everything faded to white._

 _She was being held between two men when she came around. Not a bad way to be brought back into waking, she thought blearily. Fletch, she could hear to her right, and to her left was a flash of burgundy scrubs and the same bustling walk she'd seen in AAU earlier. Tom, was it? Dom? She couldn't remember. There was another voice and a doorway flickered past before the large straight nose appeared._

 _'Tyler, my name's Sacha Levey. Can you hear me?' _Yes, she could, but whether her mouth would let her tell him that was another matter. 'She's really badly concussed, Fletch, she needs to be admitted.'__

 _ _'We can't. If that bloke finds her, we'll have more than a headache to figure out.'__

 _ _There was a sofa under her and she could see people move and hear them talk, but it was all getting too much. Tyler let herself sink into blissful blackness...__

'Your x-ray results are back,' came a voice smashing through Tyler's thoughts. She glanced up from her corridor seat to Zosia who was standing over her with an iPad. She smile and put her hand out for the tablet. Zosia didn't give it to her. Tyler squinted, confused.

'Zosia?' Zosia seemed to jerk awake and she looked up at Tyler.

'Yeah, you've broken your fifth rib, but I think we knew that already.' She hesitated. 'Tyler- is everything alright at home?'

 **Please remember to leave a quick review as it really helps me know how to progress with the story. I hope you like the direction I'm taking it in and I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as I can.**

 **-The Nefelibata**


	11. Secrets and Family Ties

Tyler felt her blood run cold and her throat constrict with emotion she hadn't felt for years. What was on that x-ray? She smoothed her expression with practiced ease and stood, trying to take the iPad out of Zosia's hand. 'What?' she said, with just enough confusion, she hoped, to convince Zosia. Zosia didn't give the tablet. Instead she took a step further away. 'Zosia?' Tyler repeated, panic beginning to flip her stomach.

'You've fractured your sixth, seventh and eighth ribs on your right side, but we knew that,' she said, bluntly. 'But what in are all these, Tyler? Your left clavicle is callused- that looks about ten years old; your third to sixth ribs on your left-hand side have been fractured; your scapula was fractured, but not displaced- I could go on!' She slapped the cover shut on the tablet. 'Nothing in your records at all! What's going on?'

'I-' Tyler began and then stopped, your heart racing. She took a deep breath. A new start, she' thought. Just when she'd managed to get away from the questions and the odd looks, it would all begin again-

'Dr Tyler!' shouted a familiar Italian voice from the end of the corridor. Mr Rossini. Relief flooding through her panic and exhaustion like a wave, she turned to him. 'Come quickly! There's a man in Darwin. He says his name is Theodore Tyler!'

Theodore Tyler.

Without even stopping to consider, she ran. Away from Zosia, away from the questions. If it was towards the lions' den then so be it, because Anna Tyler never answered questions.

She and Mr Rossini burst into Darwin and she almost ran headlong into Mr Valentine. She stopped and held the door for him, half in politeness and half procrastination. The last thing that she wanted to do, was to see Theodore. She chanced a glance at Mr Valentine as he passed, for the first time, not feeling trepidation. But, the thunder in his eyes was enough to immediately remove any doubt that nothing had changed. He leant close.

'What the hell do you think you're doing?' he hissed. 'Didn't Zosia find you?'

'Yes, Mr Valentine. But, there's a man here and I think-'

'You're concussed, for goodness' sake!' he cried, but not loud enough to let anyone else hear him. 'I'm not having you working on a ward in your state. Go home, Tyler. Get some rest.'

'I think, sir, that man is my father.'

Mr Valentine made a noise like a whale coming up for air and threw his arms up in submission, before storming off in the direction of the locker room. Tyler watched him go briefly, remembering him grabbing her wrists and the fury in his eyes. She wondered, not for the first time, what would have happened, had Mr Hanssen not broken in when he did. Then, the moment was gone and she was running through the ward to the side room which Mr Rossini had disappeared into. Just before she went through the door she stopped. Ms Naylor and Ms Effanga were running around the bed, checking, making notes and issuing orders. Mr Rossini charged through the doors and looked around, before clocking Tyler.

'We're taking him into theatre. He was stabbed and his right ventricular wall has been breached. Scrub in. Now, Dr Tyler!' he added the last bit with such force that Tyler almost obeyed him. Then her mind, body and bruises caught up with her and she turned back.

'I can't, Mr Rossini. My-'

'I know, we all know,' Mr Rossini added with feeling' But Jac had an emergency valve replacement, Mo is needed right now in the ED and there's nobody on call. All the other consultants or surgeons have clocked off or are busy. Dr Tyler, go and scrub in!'

Tyler turned and headed for the theatre, but just as she rounded the corner, she squinted through the windows and onto the bed. Amongst the blood stained sheets and frantic nurses and anaesthetist, was a pale, unconscious man of about fifty. Tyler stared at Theodore's face. Even in rest it was enough to send fingers of cold up her spine. Tyler shook her head and dashed into the prep room.

It was the time for the morning shift change and Ollie was walking down the corridor to the Nurses' Station. It had been a fantastic night with Zosia. He still struggled to believe his luck in finding her sometimes. It was something special. He grinned to himself before turning a corner. His smile slipped off his face as he saw an instantly recognisable figure.

Tyler was leaning against a wall next to the coffee machine, downing an espresso. As she turned to throw the cup in the bin next to her, he saw her face. The dark circles that had been steadily building up since he had met her were more visible than they had ever been, her eyes seeming sunken in her icy pale face. She ran a hand through hair that, though still slightly damp from showering, was lank and tired-looking. Ollie watched as she leant against back against the wall and winced, holding her ribs. Her hands shook. Ollie frowned.

'I thought I told you to get some rest, Tyler,' he called, continuing towards her. She started like a deer and turned to look at him. It looked almost as if she was struggling to even focus for a second.

'I did, sir,' she said, but her voice caught and it came out in more of a raspy whisper. I flicker of frustration crossed Ollie's forehead, but he held it back. He remembered with horrid poignancy the discussion with Hanssen yesterday.

'You didn't, Tyler, look at you. You look dead on your feet.'

She looked at him with, in his opinion, perfectly feigned confusion. 'No. I got a good kip. Just need to wait for that to kick in.' She gestured at the waste bin where her coffee cup was staring up at them. Ollie shifted. The atmosphere was suddenly awkward. The clock on the wall behind Tyler showed a mere five minutes until shift started. However, that meant five more minutes of talking to Tyler.

'And your father? Didn't you say he was here?' At the mention of the word 'father' Tyler's eyes widened and looked immediately down the corridor to where one of the side rooms were. He followed her gaze and could just make out an elderly man in the bed, attached to a ventilator. He looked back before she did and caught a glimpse of her expression. There was worry for him, as you would expect, and shock. But the overriding emotion was something he rarely saw in her. Something that made his building frustration fade and his underlying suspicion melt away.

Fear.

 **Thank you for taking the time and effort to follow along with this story- it means a lot to me. Please review as it helps me point my story in the right direction! Thank you again.**

 **-TheNefelibata**


	12. On Shaky Ground

Tyler's vision had tunnelled since she'd got out of theatre and her hearing was patchy as well. When was the last time she had properly slept? For any length of time? Not for at least a week, she was sure, but maybe longer. It seemed insane to think that she had only been at Holby General for a week. To her, it felt like one, infinitely long day. It was only when Mr Valentine stopped speaking that she realised he had been talking at all.

'Sorry, what?' she said, turning back to look at Mr Valentine. Then, she blinked and looked again. If she wasn't very much mistaken, the expression on his face was not anger, confusion or malice. Instead, she realised with a jolt of embarrassment, it was sympathy. Her eyes narrowed. What had Zosia said?

'I said, how is your father?' Tyler blinked again.

'Fine. I mean, surgery went well and Mr Rossini patched up the ventricular rupture. For a stabbing, it seems almost too good to be true. I could hardly believe my eyes.' Too late, Tyler realised she'd said too much and turned her back on Mr Valentine. The last thing she wanted was him to suspect she'd been here all night. She began to walk quickly towards the Nurses' Station to drown herself in work. He caught up with her with ease.

'What do you mean, Ty?' he said. She almost stopped. "Ty"? Only Fletch had called her that. This was almost a medical breakthrough- the great Valentine melted! She shook her head.

'I read the report this morning.' Vague- but certainly true. She leant against the counter top at the Station and peered down onto the pile of folders. A pair of hands took them out of her way.

'If I'm not going to get any more than that, Tyler, you can do obs.' Yes, she thought. Finally, the real surgeon returns. Mr Valentine dropped the tottering pile of folders into her hands. They were no heavier than usual, but for some reason, she couldn't- hold- them-

The pile spilt over the floor in a rush of blue and white. Tyler dropped frantically to her knees and called desperate apologies to the cries of despair from other doctors.

'I'm sorry,' she shouted, to the room at large. 'I didn't mean to. They're heavier than I expected.' She braced herself and lifted, trying to hide the shakes in her muscles as she struggled with the weight. Not long. Not long and then the caffeine will kick in and everything will be just fine.

As she struggled away to begin work, she looked back and found the icy blue eyes of Valentine glued inextricably to her back, an expression of deep thought on his face.

Tyler kept herself busy all morning. This was getting harder. Coffee was having less and less effect and the pain in her ribs and head was starting to be matched with aches in her neck and shoulders. It was with a sense of relief that she dropped onto the sofa in the staffroom at lunch time. Until she caught a glimpse through the glass panel of the door of the patient white board. Theodore Tyler, written at the top. She realised, with a sickening lurch of guilt, that she hadn't seen him properly at all. He'd been unconscious when she had seen him in his side room, and in surgery. It was the last thing she wanted to do, but, as she thought, old habits really do die hard.

He was asleep when she came in. He was off his ventilator- early for a bloke of his age- early for most in fact. Tyler picked up the folder from the end of the bed. That way, even if anyone came in, she could kid she was just checking up on him. No one came in. No one rescued her. Tyler lifted her eyes from the folder briefly and almost took a step back.

Two brown eyes stared back.

Theodore Tyler would have been impressive if he stood up, well over six feet, and lithe an strong. The brown hair that had once been the same hazelnut colour as Tyler's was now streaked with white and grey as was the shirt beard that highlighted his chiselled jaw. Tyler always wondered if he had been handsome once. Maybe that was why her mother had overlooked certain other aspects of his character. He was looking at her now as if no time had passed since their last meeting and as if Tyler was still only sixteen-years old.

'So, you did become a doctor, Anna,' he rasped. Tyler blinked. Theodore's voice had always been rich and full, even in the height of passion. Especially in the height of passion. To hear his greatest asset brought down made a slight warmth trickle through her clammy skin.

'I did, sir,' she answered, her own voice, she realised, with a slight frown, barely above a whisper. 'I'd worked hard enough for it.'

'What do you know,' said Theodore, an old sneer twisting his Grecian features. 'Daddy really did know best.'

'Not quite,' Tyler replied, lightly, returning the folder. 'I almost became an engineer. I didn't really want to follow in your footsteps.' Tyler fought back a flinch, but stayed strong. She knew this was dangerous ground. She had never spoken to her father this way, but, then again, she had never been in a better position.

'What's that supposed to mean, Anna?' Theodore's voice was returning, and the forceful Home Counties accent echoed a little down the corridor. Tyler checked over her shoulder and saw a nurse looking curiously into the room. Tyler came closer to her father as if checking up on him, when in reality, she would rather get closer to a starving killer whale. Or even Mr Valentine after a meeting with Jac Naylor.

'It's supposed to mean that I never wanted to see you again. After-' she broke off, but he didn't fill in the gap. His dark eyes seemed to be boring into her head wound, making it burn worse than ever. 'After the last time I saw you, I swore I'd never speak to you again!'

'You always were a liar, Anna,' Theodore rumbled. Tyler felt her wrist seized in an iron grip through her t-shirt. Right over where Mr Valentine had grabbed her yesterday. But, this was far harder, and frighteningly familiar.

'I never told you what you didn't want to hear,' she hissed. 'You left me no choice. You were a monster!'

The vice-like hold yanked her and all of a sudden, she was inches from her father's face, off-balance and scared.

Powerless.

 **Yet again, thank you for the support you have shown my story by reading it. Please leave a review- it really helps me guide the story. A special thank you to those who do regularly- it's a great boost of morale!**


	13. Past Caring

Ollie had assumed that something was very wrong with Tyler as soon as he had seen the look on her face that morning. It had only been cemented by her errors, which were numerous and he had only just managed to cover for, the folder-dropping incident and her eagerness to take her lunch hour. In the week he had known her, Tyler had never voluntarily left a shift. He or one of their colleagues had had to force, bribe or threaten her into eating or sleeping.

He wasn't even one hundred percent sure she had slept since she had arrived. She always stayed after him to "finish a paper", "run a quick job" or "do a bit of research" and she was always there when he returned to his next shift, in the middle of a surgical operation, helping one of the consultants or, on occasion, taking a nap on the staffroom sofa. It was one of the things that had annoyed him about her. Her omnipresence and her incredible work rate that all of the other doctors admired.

It was this concern that had led him to try to find her that lunch time. Ollie checked the staffroom, her usual haunt, where she was normally found curled up on the far sofa, or leaning on the counter, typing frantically and trying to brew coffee simultaneously. Empty. Maybe, she reasoned, she was in the bathroom. She'd been here certainly. Her flask was out on the side board and the smell of very strong coffee that surrounded it was slowly filling the room. He waited, patiently, briefly, before leaving, worry etched deeper into his face.

The only other justifiable place she could be was her father's room. However, if his and Zosia's, whom he had spoken to earlier, suspicions were correct, that was equally as worrying as her being lost. More so.

So, when he saw Tyler dangerously close to her father's head, he didn't hesitate. He began a slow jog down the corridor. Tyler looked over her shoulder, a desperate plea clear on her face, but she didn't see him. They were talking, but Tyler was taut, like a threatened cat. Ollie was almost at the door when she was pulled, suddenly, frighteningly close to him. She wobbled dangerously.

Ollie threw open the door with a crash and wrenched Tyler away from Theodore. The old man in the bed roared, fury evident in his voice. Ollie allowed himself one glance at Tyler. She was shaking frantically and her breaths were coming in short gasps. Pale as death, she was rubbing her wrists, obsessively, over and over. Ollie turned back to the man.

'Don't you dare do that!' he said, keeping his voice low. Theodore locked eyes with him, silent. 'Get the hell away from her or I will make your life very, very difficult. Understand?!' Ollie forced his temper down and succeeded, but he could hear the anger in his own words. So what? No one did something like that on his watch! He heard the door squeak shut and the spell was broken. Ollie stepped away from the man on the bed, who did not drop his gaze. He had to admit, there was something in those eyes that made even Ollie a bit wary. A hint of anger that was completely beyond control. A whisper of a man who believed in complete dominance. Some might say, a murmur of the insane.

Tyler was leaning against the wall just outside the side room, shaking still and breathing hard. Her eyes were closed and she was still rubbing her wrists. Ollie placed his hands on her shoulders and sought out her eyes. It was true, they'd had their differences. Well, he'd had his differences, and Tyler had aggravated them. But, now, all he wanted to do was to keep this girl as far away from the man in there as he could.

Tyler couldn't look into Mr Valentine's eyes. Her mind was working overtime. She couldn't believe that over seven years had passed and that he hadn't changed a bit. She remembered the look in his eyes, the same damn colour she saw every time she looked in the mirror and felt her strength ebb again. Her head pounded and all she wanted to do was to sleep. But she knew that she shouldn't. Sleep is for those who have no ambition. That, and the fact that she knew that she'd see Harry and Theodore's faces as soon as she closed her eyes.

One of Mr Valentine's hands left her shoulder and lifted her chin so she was forced to look into the two blue abysses. She took a deep breath and battled with an instant overwhelming urge to cry.

'Are you alright, Ty?' asked Mr Valentine.

'I'm fine, sir,' she croaked out. 'Fine. Honest,' she added to the look of incredulity on her senior's face.

'Come off it, Ty. You're shaking like a leaf. And please, Dr Tyler, call me Ollie.' A hint of humour laced the last sentence, one of the first Tyler had heard from Mr Valentine. In response, she relaxed her mouth into one of her rare easy smiles. She'd walked into the lion's den, it was true, but here she was out of the other side. Mr Valentine lowered his hands and propelled her in the direction of the rest of the department. Tyler couldn't help but think that he wanted to put distance between himself an Theodore as well.

Mr Valentine seemed a little awkward as he slumped on the other end of the sofa in the staffroom. Automatically, they swivelled to face each other. Face to face. Nose to nose. He opened his mouth as if to say something, took a breath- ans then, stopped. Tyler narrowed her eyes. In her experience, he never withheld anything. No criticism it seemed was harsh enough. He seemed to steel himself, then try again.

'Ty, Zosia talked me through your x-ray results.'

And there it was. Tyler stood up to leave. There was no way in heaven or hell she was going to talk this through with this man.

'Wait, Ty!' cried Ollie, reaching out to hold her wrist. As he touched her skin, tingles of pain seemed to arc through her flesh and she cried out and took a step away. He stood up too. 'Is your wrist alright?' he asked.

'Fine.' That seemed all she could say today. Well, all anyone seemed to ask her was if she was alright. What else was she supposed to bloody say? She snatched her sleeves down.

'Tyler, if that man has done anything to you, then-'

'You've got it all wrong!' yelled Tyler. She never shouted and Mr Valentine recalled. 'Butt out, Mr Valentine. It really is none of your business!'

Tyler stormed out of the staffroom, leaving Mr Valentine alone, staring after the slammed door.


	14. Ticking Time Bomb

''Scuse me, doc, don't s'pose you could pass us that glass of water.' A crackly London accent snapped Tyler out of her reverie and she looked up quickly. An elderly man in the bed across next to her was trying in vain to reach the full glass of water on the edge of his table. Tyler moved without thinking and accepted the thanks before trying to move on. She was still on edge after her run-in with her father and the last thing she wanted was a conversation. However, this man seemed to be the complete opposite.

'Penny for them,' he called after her and she turned around. His lips were a dark blue colour and he seemed to be struggling to hold his glass. This wasn't rare in a heart ward, but nevertheless, Tyler hurried back to help him.

'What?' she said, taking the glass from his hands, with she noticed were as cold as death.

'Penny for your thoughts.' When Tyler didn't reply, he carried on. 'You were thinking really hard about something there.'

'I was.' Tyler really didn't want to talk to anyone about her thoughts. Not anyone, especially not strange patients. 'How are you feeling, Mr...' She checked the board. '...Cox.' If she wasn't going to get away, she might as well carry out the half-hourly obs on him.

'No, please, call me Cedric. Everyone around here does- speak of the devil!' he added cheerily and Tyler looked over her shoulder. Ms Naylor had walked up behind her and regarded Cedric Cox with an alien expression on her face. Tyler supposed that this was her smile.

'Mr Cox, how are you?' This was said, Tyler realised, with more of the intonation of a friends, rather than a doctor. She began to back away, but found a sudden clamp on her shoulder. 'This is Dr Tyler, Cedric.' Damn it. She was going to get stuck with "the character". 'She's training here, but she is one of the most promising young heart surgeons in the country.'

Tyler's heart swelled, despite herself.

'She's going to take over here for a bit. I doubt she'll find anything we haven't. In fact, I know she won't.' Tyler's heart went from the size of the earth to the size of a small pebble. Tight with determination. 'Mr Cox has been in and out of Darwin for about two or three years, now, but we can't work out what is wrong with him. All I want you to do, Tyler, is do obs and stop him wandering off!'

And with that, Ms Naylor disappeared back into her lair of the Consultants' Room.

'That sounded like a challenge to me.' Tyler turned back to Cedric Cox, who was regarding her with the mischievous eyes of a school boy. Her mouth twitched.

'Really?'

Mr Cox's predicament took up most of her thoughts for the next two hours, but she was back on top form. She realised how much she had slipped that morning and worked exceptionally hard to keep up to her usual standards. She sent two patients off to surgery and discharged a further five with out-patient appointments. This meant she had to talk to Mr Valentine a couple of times, but she kept it brief and he was his usual terse self. However, she couldn't shake the feeling of his eyes on the back of her neck almost constantly.

She didn't slow for the rest of the evening and said goodbye thankfully to the day-shift staff, telling Mr Valentine she needed to finish one last set of obs on Mr Cox. He looked distinctly uncomfortable with it, but disappeared into the night hand-in-hand with Zosia. For the first time, she wished she was leaving with them. Her new flat was and rest were calling to her. But, rather than doing any observations Tyler was back by Mr Cox's bed almost immediately, but scrolling through results frantically on a tablet. The beeping from his heart monitor was faster than it should be and it sped her thinking.

'Hasn't shift ended, Anna?' came a quiet voice from behind her. She swung around to find Mr Hanssen standing behind her. She took a deep breath. Nobody else was in this part of the ward.

'Yes, sir. I'm just finishing up.' She swallowed a yawn as Mr Hanssen nodded disbelievingly.

'And you will still be finishing up, as you say, if I came back in a few hours time, perhaps? I understand that you are a very _determined_ doctor, Anna. But, no matter. I did not come here to discuss your sleeping habits.' Tyler noted that he sounded a little frustrated with her. She wondered where that routed from- did her regret giving her this job? 'I came to check up on you after yesterday's- shall we say- fainting spell.'

Tyler flushed, part in anger and part in embarrassment. 'Thank you for your concern, but I'm fine, Mr Hanssen.'

'Indeed.' But, he didn't sound convinced. 'As a wise man once said, only be knowing our limits can we go beyond them.'

'Who said that, sir?' Tyler asked, distantly. The heart monitor was picking up speed. Her mind was racing.

'Albert Einstein, I believe.'

'Einstein.' For some reason, her mind pounced on the sound of that word. The cogs whirred in her head, faster and fast. Clubbing, lack of strength, blue lips, high blood pressure, high platelets...

'Yes. Well, if that will be all, Dr Tyler-'

'I need a surgery spot, now!' Tyler had forgotten who she was talking to, in fact, she had forgotten she was talking at all. She'd done it. She'd worked it out. She knew what was wrong with Mr Cox! 'And I need to page the best CT surgeon I can find!' She raced past Mr Hanssen who she suddenly remembered was standing right there. She stopped to explain herself, then realised she hadn't the time. She saw a nurse hurrying past.

'Leo- can you get Mr Cox prepped for theatre?' she asked, quickly. Her exhaustion was forgotten. She could hear clipped footsteps behind her, but her mind was on the rapidly beating heart monitor she could still hear. She threw herself down in the Nurses' Station and pulled up Google. No time to lose.

'Dr Tyler, what is going on?' asked Mr Hanssen, the warning etched deep into his voice.

'Eisenmenger's Syndrome,' Tyler said, an enormous smile leaping onto her features. The pride and the satisfaction at completing the puzzle was now matching itself against her worries about theatre spots and surgeons. Mr Hanssen was now someone to be got rid of. If she wanted to be the best, this was her golden opportunity! 'Mr Cox has Eisenmenger's Syndrome.'

'No he doesn't!' Mr Hanssen spat. 'He's too old to have survived this long. And, we would have noticed.'

'Not if you weren't looking hard enough. Or for the right things. It explains everything.'

'Are you insulting the ability of my staff, Dr Tyler?' asked Mr Hanssen. He was following her as she knocked on the door to the Consultant's Office and stuck her head around the door. Empty. Her own heart rate accelerated and she pulled her phone out, quickly texting all the numbers she had. She realised with a sinking feeling that she only had Messers Rossini and Valentine's. She sent an urgent message off quickly and turned back to find Mr Hanssen blocking her way.

'I would never insult your staff. But, _let me through_ , Mr Hanssen. Mr Cox is going into pulmonary hypertension and we could be looking at a right ventricular failure. Please, Mr Hanssen!' she added, when the gentleman showed no signs of moving. He finally stepped aside. She could hear footsteps pounding along the corridor. The game was afoot!


	15. Breaking Point

The surgery was already three hours in when the door swung open. Tyler, who was desperately battling her own eyelids in their determination to close. Why did they play classical music in theatres? It just made her want to curl up next to Mr Cox on the operating table. This unsettling thought brought her back to reality and she turned to see Mr Valentine in his scrubs. Her heart flipped with thanks. She didn't know how much longer she could go on for.

'I'm here, Matteo,' called Mr Valentine as he walked up beside Tyler. 'I was delayed. Personal issues.' Tyler proffered him her suction tube.

'Mr Rossini is just about to take Mr Cox off bypass,' Tyler explained, realising at the last minute her voice was hoarse, her words slightly slurred. Mr Valentine refused the tube.

'I'm not here to relieve you, Ty, just in case things get messy. Anyway, don't you want that glory?'

Tyler realised that Mr Valentine had been speaking to her too late, but thankfully he didn't seem to notice. What on earth was wrong with her? She mentally shook herself, and forced her thoughts away from coffee and blankets. Sleep was for the weak. She needed this break. After Harry's death, she could make no errors. Two mortalities in two days- that was a heck of a blight on the golden girl's books. Her only positive outlook if that happened was that, on paper, Mr Cox wasn't technically her patient.

Mr Rossini was somehow finished and had the defibrillator paddles in his hands. He was staring at her, a trace of impatience on his face.

'I said, _all clear_ , Dr Tyler?' he growled. Tyler muttered an apology and leapt back, not glancing at Mr Valentine, who she was sure would have an expression like thunder. The body of Mr Cox jolted and a frantic beeping filled the room.

'He's back, but there's a rupture!' roared Mr Rossini. 'Suction- I said, suction, Dr Tyler, can you hear me?' Tyler couldn't seem to move fast enough. It wasn't that she'd frozen in fear, her mind was still telling her to follow Mr Rossini's orders, but her legs seemed infinitely far away from her brain. She tripped herself forwards and forced her arm into Mr Cox's chest cavity.

'I think...' she began, but her words were barely distinguishable. Her tongue was like cotton wool. Both men looked at her and she fought not to sway. 'I think,' she repeated, with a bit more force. 'I think his septum has breached.'

There was a reply to her statement, but what it was or from whom it came Tyler could not tell. Then, there was suddenly a lot more blood and there was not enough suction. The voices were getting louder and the frantic beeping reached an extraordinary pitch. Tyler's hand was shaking and her own heart seemed to match the scared twitching of Cedric Cox. Her hearing returned in a burst of clarity.

'...Right ventricle and septum. I cannot do it, Oliver.' Mr Rossini stepped away and Tyler took one look at Cedric Cox's face. The faintest trace of that schoolboy smile still lined his face. 'I'm calling it. Are we in agreement?'

Tyler didn't have to look to know Mr Valentine's silence was an affirmation.

'No.' The word was out of her mouth before she realised it, and it was shrill and drawn-out. At that moment, the heart monitor began an alarm. She looked at the equipment next to his cavity and reached out a shivering, weak hand. Goodness only knew how she'd do it, but she'd give it a shot!

'Tyler, no, it's too late.' To the nurse, he added, 'Switch that thing off.' The alarm of the monitor stopped and Tyler almost lost her balance.

'No, we could... we could...' Her normally quick mind was empty and she couldn't get it to kick in. Finally, her shoulders slumped and she heard the scalpel she'd grabbed clatter to the floor.

'Time of death: eleven thirty-four.'

Tyler was out of the door before he'd even finished speaking. Mr Valentine could say what he liked about walking away- there was no way in hell she was sticking around for that conversation.

She quickly left the prep room before the other two even came in. Her movements were clumsy and prolonged, but that didn't stop her from still moving faster than she would have done. The door swung open as she left and almost collided with the man standing on the other side. Mr Hanssen. If she hadn't felt as she did, she would have stopped. Explained herself, even, about how she'd spoken to him earlier. But as she was, she muttered a quick apology and started off sown the corridor, her mind swirling and emotions bubbling crazily.

She heard him calling after her, and even in her state, she noticed he did not sound angry. Turning, she made brief eye contact and saw not anger, or disappointment, but what could only be described as- sorrow?

Tyler walked slowly towards him, a curious roaring in her ears.

'Would you please come to my office, Anna? You too, Mr Valentine, if you wouldn't mind.'

Tyler did not allow her eyes to jump to Mr Valentine's, for she didn't dare meet the anger she was sure was boiling there. Instead, she kept her gaze firmly on the retreating heels of Mr Hanssen's shoes as she followed him mindlessly.

She could hear her beating heart in her ears as she sat in the chair opposite Mr Hanssen's that he had indicated. She wondered what the rest of the office looked like, but her vision had returned to the tunnel it now normally resided in and the thought of even moving her head made her giddy.

Mr Hanssen sat down, not in the chair opposite her as she had supposed, but on th desk next to her. Mr Valentine was stood somewhere near the door. She didn't like this, being the only one seated. She could have stifled the memories it brought back, if she wasn't so _damn_ tired! Her hand shook as she rubbed the back of her head, which was throbbing dully.

'I'm sorry to have to tell you this, Anna,' Mr Hanssen began and Tyler's eyes shot up to meet his. What was it? Had she made such a big mistake that someone else had died? Did he blame her for Mr Cox's death? Was he going to _suspend_ her? Her heart rate accelerated as she felt the blood drain from her cheeks. 'Your father has just died.'

Her father.

Dead.

And then, she was running.


	16. Past Reincarnate

Ollie had wondered what was going on as he had walked behind Hanssen to his office. Firstly, he had wondered what Tyler had done- and then he went back to worrying about himself and how that would reflect on him.

When Hanssen had dropped the news, the first thing he felt was a sickening, dizzying sense of déjà vu, that was only compounded when Tyler immediately leapt to her feet. For the first time, he wondered how it felt for the like people there when Spence had broke the news to him. If it felt like how he felt. Helpless and an odd sense of guilt- why should it be she who was suffering? He'd done much worse things than her.

He knew she was going to run before she did, but he was too wrong-footed himself to stop her. She flew past him in a whirl and he saw how unsteady she was on her feet. He tried to stop her opening the door.

'Ty-', but she was gone, and he could hear those sneakers she wore, squeaking as she ran. Hanssen was out of the door before he was and they flew after her. Horrible images soared through his head. He'd worked in a hospital. He'd seen sane people do things they wouldn't normally with grief. And Tyler was nowhere near as sane as them. He remembered her dark-rimmed, sunken eyes and her shaky grip and berated himself for not looking out for her. She wasn't in full control of herself: he'd seen that in theatre. What lengths was she going to go to?

And, unwittingly, another image slipped into his mind. Theodore Tyler. When Tyler had texted him about the emergency operation, he had assumed it was him and, after a couple of hours in the hope that they'd finish up quickly, he had gone straight to his room, only to find a fully alert and healthy Theodore staring right back at him.

'You're Anna's boss, am I correct?' he had asked him, with no wherewithal. Without waiting for a reply, the old man had added. 'You need to watch her. She lies, she schemes and she doesn't care about honour.'

'Why should I listen to you?' Ollie had hissed. 'Do you know what you did to her?'

'I did nothing. It was all her doing. The sooner you come to terms with that, the sooner you can straighten her out. Anna is not a normal person, Mr Valentine. She needs a helping hand.'

'Not in my experience she doesn't,' Ollie had replied, feeling a glow in the centre of his chest he normally associated with pride. Could he feel pride for Tyler? 'Ty is the most able doctor I know.'

'Yes, she's intelligent,' Theodore had said, as a slight sneer slit his face. 'But she abuses her knowledge. I do not regret any of my actions. I did not do anything with has not helped _everyone_ in the long run.'

'I don't care what you think your morals are,' Ollie had replied, feeling anger rise in him, but knowing that this time at least, it was justified. 'My point still stands. You need to keep far away from her.'

'You say that now,' said Theodore, as Ollie had made his way to the door. 'But you'll thank me in the long term.'

'No,' Ollie had said. 'I don't think I will.'

He heard a door slam up ahead and saw Mr Hanssen redouble his pace in front of him. Again, terrible, terrible images flew through his head and he sped up even more, passing Mr Hanssen.

'Tyler!' he roared. 'Tyler!'

He reached the door of the locker room and threw his fists against it, yelling. It was the weirdest sensation, knowing it had once been him inside the door, listening to the far away thumps and cries. A crash snapped him out of his reverie and he flinched away from the door.

'Break the door down, Oliver,' Mr Hanssen said, with odd calm. Ollie barely registered the command, his panic blotting out all else. 'I said-'

'I heard.' Ollie took two steps back and launched his body weight against the door. There was a sudden splintering noise and the door burst open.

Ollie fell into the room and immediately righted himself, ready to save Tyler from whatever she thought had been the right thing to do. For a moment, he couldn't see her. No lights were on. The mirror lay in pieces on the floor, where it seemed one punch had smashed it, and the bench lay on its side, coats and sweaters strewn with glass shards. Ollie swung his head like a bloodhound, desperate to find Tyler.

He saw her. A bundle of navy scrubs sat against the lockers on one side of the room. A locker door was dented above her and behind her head a smudge of red blood. She had her knees in front of her and a pair of bloody fists, one bruised and swollen already, rested on top of her knees. Her head was back, her dark eyes staring at some point in the middle distance and her glasses had been thrown a couple of feet in front of her. She was shaking, frantically, and what he could see of her face was as pale as death. She did not acknowledge his or Mr Hanssen's presence. It was as if he had stumbled on a corpse.

'Anna?' came Mr Hanssen's voice, as tentative and unsure as Ollie had ever heard it. The figure on the floor did not respond. Indeed Ollie was not sure is she could even hear him. 'I am very sorry for your loss. And if there is anything-'

'He's dead.' Tyler's voice rasped like nails on sandpaper and was blunt and harsh. Ollie almost recoiled. Then, he remembered in a sickening swoop how he had felt when Penny and Tara had died and was sure he had sounded far worse. Ollie sighed and crossed the room and sat right next to Tyler, remembering how he had craved human closeness. She did not in any way show she knew he was there.

'I know,' he murmured. 'It's OK. He can't hurt you any more.'

At this, Tyler started and looked briefly in his direction. She still shook, but less so, as if she didn't even have the energy for that.

'No, not him. I don't care about him.' Her voice became even sharper, but the rasp didn't go away and Ollie could see how hard it was for her to focus her eyes. She seemed to swallow a choke. 'Cedric Cox. He's dead.'

Ollie's mind whirled. Cedric Cox? Then he remembered the name on the theatre board and realisation stepped in. She wasn't grieving for her father at all. He exchanged a brief glance at Mr Hanssen, who still stood silhouetted in the doorway. Though he could not properly see his face, he knew the other man was thinking the same. Tyler had been pushing herself too hard. He had seen it- why on earth had he not stopped her? Now here she was, grieving for a man she had known for twelve hours as he had grieved for a sister he had known his whole life. He dipped his head.

'I know that this doesn't make it any easier, but there was nothing any of us could have done for Cox. You know that, don't you?'

'You're wrong,' she cried, and her voice, in its dampness from the tears on her cheeks was suddenly strong. 'I could have done something. If I hadn't been so slow, so bloody thick, I could have seen it earlier. I could have saved him. It's all my fault!'

Ollie looked at her. He remembered all the times over the last week he had shouted at her, blamed her for anything, everything. Then, he remembered her father. 'It was all her own doing', he had said. He sagged, shame and guilt soaking into him. Why had he not seen this? Why had he not acted differently? He took Tyler's wrists gently, seeing the bruises and realising, horribly, his own hands fit them perfectly. Tyler winced, as if she couldn't hold it back any more, but looked into his eyes.

'No,' Ollie said. 'No, it's not.'


	17. Liberty

A wave of crushing relief filled Tyler, so strongly that all the remaining tension in her lifted and the barriers tumbled down. She couldn't remember a time where she had cried as she did then. Maybe she had never cried like that and all of the body-wracking sobs that shook her were from my whole life: her infancy, childhood, adolescence and short adulthood. She could not tell. All she knew was the pain in her and that Mr Valentine held her.

Tyler didn't know that she had fallen asleep until she felt her consciousness return to her. Normally, when she woke, she would berate herself for ever sleeping in the first place, but now, a curious calm had filled her, as if just by sleeping, some of her strength had returned to her. Opening her eyes, she lifted her head off the soft thing it had rested on and made to sit up. Pain rushed through her ribs and she couldn't help but cry out.

'I wouldn't try moving, yet, Anna,' came a measured voice from above her head. Tyler winced and slowly the world came into focus. The familiar amber panels of wood filled her vision and a distant white ceiling swum into view far, far away. With a great effort, she planted her hands into the sofa she lay on and heaved herself upright. She grabbed her head as it throbbed and noticed that her hands had been bandaged. She couldn't remember this and she waited for the fear to stab her heart. Nothing. It was as if she had been drugged. A numbness filled her every synapse. A hand touched hers and for the first time in her life, she didn't start. Mr Valentine sat on the floor next to her and at his desk on the far side of the room, Mr Hanssen looked on, observing over steepled fingers.

'I'm not going to ask you if you're OK, Ty, because that would be stupid,' Mr Valentine said. 'But, why? Why did you let it get this bad? You could have come to me- surely, you knew that?' Tyler made burning eye contact again. She knew that she should be feeling anger, or betrayal at this. Mr Valentine had spent the last week making her life living hell. Not the worst hell, but pretty close to it. She couldn't muster any feelings at all. None. She dropped her eyes and slowly- _so_ slowly- brought her knees to her chest.

'He wasn't always like that you know? My father.' She didn't know why she had started speaking. It was like the expressions that her two- _friends_ \- were pulling had wrenched the dam out of a colossal river. She looked up, once. Mr Hanssen was leaning on the front of his desk, leaning ever so slightly forwards and Mr Valentine was perched on the edge of the sofa, his ice-blue eyes boring into hers. They weren't telling her to stop, or telling her she was lying. Maybe, now he was dead, maybe things could be different.

'When I was younger, before he got a Director job, we used to do things together all the time. It was about a week into his new job that _that_ started. I had asked him to help me with my work and he had cracked. He didn't bruise me, not when I was little. But, it was all my fault. Every time. Do you understand?'

'It wasn't your fault, Anna,' stated Mr Hanssen. 'It wasn't.'

Tyler half-laughed, feeling a sneer lift her lip. 'I get that now, sir. But, when I was seven and eight, that didn't figure, you know? It couldn't have been Theodore who had changed. It would have had to have been me. It stayed about once a fortnight, but when I hit twelve, he went through a tricky period. Cuts, a complication with a patient. Needless to say, he was stressed.' Tyler faltered and she felt her eye-line raise to some point over Mr Valentine's head. Irrational shame leeched into her muscles. She couldn't tell them everything. Not yet. 'He left me there. I couldn't move. He left me there for _days_ until he took pity and carried me to my room. My mother- she left, then. Couldn't take it anymore. I never saw her again.' The tears that had overwhelmed her before threatened to do so again and she leant back, covering her face with her hands so they couldn't see the pain.

'I left at sixteen. Just upped and left. I just couldn't cope, you know?' She stopped, as if a thought had occurred to her and added in a monotone, 'of course, you don't. Of course, you don't.' Tyler turned her face away.

Again, it was as if only seconds had passed, but she was regaining her senses again. The scenery had changed, but the people had not. Tyler tried to focus her hearing and vision, but she was so tired, so _damned_ tired that all she could do was ride on the half-way mark between dreams and reality, listening to the two voices whirl around her.

' _She's suffering from severe exhaustion. When did she last sleep, Oliver?'_

 _'I don't know if she's been home this week.'_

 _'And you did not see fit to tell me this?'_

 _'I just... Mr Hanssen... I didn't want to interfere. Tyler plays her cards close, alright? I see now I went wrong...'_

Tyler's finger-grip on consciousness faded and she deteriorated into sleep.

Tyler knocked cautiously on Mr Hanssen's office door. She'd just been discharged after two or three days drifting in and out of sleep and, she hated to admit it to herself, she'd never felt better. Mr Rossini had given her the rest of the week off, probably worried about another breakdown, and she felt weirdly naked in her white shirt, jeans and sweatshirt. It was a sharp contrast to a week only in scrubs. She heard a voice from inside and walked in, trying hard to appear as alert as she could. The conversation she was about to have wouldn't be easy. She was doubtless going to have to see a doctor afterwards and she wasn't looking forward to that.

But, at least there was nothing to be scared of anymore. At least now she was safe and free.

 **Thanks for putting in the time and effort in reading my first ever fanfiction! I really enjoyed writing it, even if the last part did take _forever_ to get right. **

**I would really appreciate reviews so that my future fictions can have a much-needed improvement!**

 **If you have any requests for one- or two-shots or a fully fledged fiction, then don't hesitate to leave a review or message me.**

 **Thank you again for your support!**

 **-TheNefelibata**


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